Local peace groups have held several protests of the center since spring, and recently drew a crowd of hundreds of supporters.
The latest effort on Friday was relatively small, but at least 20 members of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Civil Affairs Unit hovered around the protesters in case any large unruly crowds were to form.
About 20 people gathered for an hour-long vigil on a busy street corner near the mall to hold signs that read “War is Not a Game – Shut down the Army Experience Center.” The group then moved into the mall to talk to store managers about supporting their cause and ended with a public statement in front of the center, which was closed Friday.
“I think the AEC is an obscene effort to militarize the imaginations and consciences of young people. Kids as young as 13 go in there and are able to hold machine guns and stand on Humvees,” said the Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, which is one of 90 organizations in the Delaware Valley Network. He’s also a pastor at East Brunswick Congregational Church in New Jersey.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching an Army Experience Center representative for comment on Friday.
The purpose of the center is to provide people an accurate sense of what the Army does, the center’s commander, Capt. Jared Auchey, said in late October.
More than 14,000 people have visited the attraction since it opened about 15 months ago, he said. Visitors can discover Army careers, explore the latest communications technologies the Army uses and jump into high-action mission simulators.
The center is a 2-year pilot program the Army is using to analyze its marketing and recruiting strategies, according to the Web site.
Hands-on virtual reality experiences and simulations allow users to see, touch and learn firsthand what it means to be in the Army, according to the center’s fact sheet.
To participate in the center’s activities, visitors must be at least 13 years old, and many gaming activities are rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, as stated on the fact sheet.
But games that expose children to war situations manipulate them into thinking that war is glamorous, said Bill Deckhart, a coordinator for Coalition for Peace Action.
Recruiting adults into the Army is fine, but the experience center should be called a recruitment center so children don’t think it’s all fun and games, he said.
“It’s an enticement center. If they didn’t allow 13-year-olds in, then it would be better. Right now it’s just dishonest,” he said.
Most passersby outside the center said they weren’t familiar with the center. However, 17-year-old Rolland Collins of Philadelphia said he’s had a good time there.
“It’s fun. It gives you the real experience. You can hang out and play games with your friends,” he said.
The Black Friday vigil won’t create results overnight, but it’s a first step to launching a “Don’t Shop the Mall” campaign of public protests and vigils, Moore said.
Protesters gave store managers letters urging them to convince mall owners to oust the center. On the other side of the letter is a pledge shoppers can sign to stop patronizing the mall until the center is gone.
Managers took the letters, and some said they would think about it, said Moore.
In the Gap store, a manager who didn’t want to give her name said she would pass the letter to her own superiors but added that she could do nothing else.
After a while, mall security stopped the group from talking to managers because they were seen to be soliciting, said Moore.
Continuing to put economic pressure on the mall could be the solution to closing the center, said Robert M. Smith, the coordinator and co-founder of the Brandywine Peace Community.
On Sept. 12, the Army announced it would no longer export the Army Experience Center pilot project to other parts of the U.S. Smith believes the peace protests were responsible.
“Past demonstrations have been louder and longer, but the point of this one is to be more communicative with stores and the public. Now we have to keep the pressure on,” said Smith.
Want to know more?
For more information about the Army Experience Center, go to www.thearmyexperience.com. For more about the peace groups and their programs, go to Coalition for Peace Action Web site, at www.peacecoalition.org.